Post operative knee braces are used to control the range of motion of a patient's leg to facilitate recovery after surgery. As shown in FIG. 1, the range of motion 4 for a patient's leg 11 is controlled by a post operative knee brace 1 by providing a maximum extension angle 7 and maximum flexion angle 3 of the patient's leg 11 using a hinge 5. The knee brace 1 can be attached to a patient's leg with straps. The prior art knee brace 1 has an extension setting area 6 and a flexion setting area 12 on opposite sides of a hinge 5. Using an extension setting selector 8, a user can adjust the maximum extension angle 7 of the leg 11 by setting a first selector 8 to a desired angle of extension along the first setting area 13. The user then adjusts the maximum flexion angle 3 of the leg 11 by setting a flexion selector 9 to the desired angle of flexion along the second setting area 2. This prior art system, however, is potentially confusing to the patient when setting the desired range of motion. Such a hinge brace does not provide an intuitive interface for the patient to set a range of motion of the assembled brace.
Furthermore, the setting of the range of motion in prior art knee braces can require complex movement of the setting mechanism and, at the very least, is cumbersome. Adjusting prior knee braces requires manipulating a setting selector using both hands. Prior braces require the use of two fingers to adjust the setting, one at the top and one at the bottom, which makes it more difficult to adjust the angle while such a brace is on. This makes it difficult for a patient to adjust the knee brace while wearing it. This also prevents quick and easy adjustment or readjustment of the knee brace hinge.
Additionally, post operative knee braces should fit on patients of varied sizes and be customizable in this way. It is desirable to make a post operative knee brace which can accommodate all types of patients. This can be accomplished by telescopic expansion of the knee brace, which allows the brace to be fitted to a variety of body sizes. However, prior art methods of telescopic expansion in knee braces require complex spring loaded locking and multiple separate components, complicating and increasing the costs of production.